Geological mapping in Mercury's southern latitudes

水星南部纬度的地质测绘

• 批准号: 2285298
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: The Open University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2285298
• 关键词: Geological; mapping; Mercury; southern; latitudes

NASAs MESSENGER orbiter ended its mission in 2015. In preparation for Europe's Mercury orbiter, BepiColombo (launch October 2018), a co-ordinated effort is being mounted by MESSENGER and BepiColombo scientists to produce 1:3M geological maps of the whole planet using the best MESSENGER data available. These will provide contextual information for planning and interpreting BepiColombo data, replacing partial 1:5M scale map coverage achieved using Mariner-10 data. Mercury is divided into 15 quadrangles (including one at each pole). The student will be responsible for creating a geological map of one of the southern hemisphere quadrangles, guided by the supervision team. This will be either the south polar quadrangle (H-15 Bach) between 66 degrees S and the pole, or one of the three as-yet unmapped quadrangles (H-11 to H13) in the belt occupying 21-66 Degrees S, depending on mapping already underway by colleagues at other institutions. However, every quadrangle has a wide range of features and a long and complex geological history making it an exciting region to study. It is particularly important to understand Mercury's southern hemisphere as fully as possible. This was less-well studied by MESSENGER, but it will be observed in detail by BepiColombo and so this mapping will establish the context for what we expect to be BepiColombo's most novel findings. The student will compile a geological map in ArcGIS using MESSENGER narrow- and wideangle-camera images supplemented by topographic and spectral data, available from NASA's Planetary Data System, and will co-ordinate with colleagues who have mapped adjacent quadrangles. Mapping will follow 'mapping standards' protocols and conventions adopted by the 'Planmap' consortium, which are consistent with USGS practice. Online digital publication facilitates the inclusion of multiple layers, so that (for example) this new generation of maps could have a chronostratigraphic version (surface units divided by age, such as smooth plains, intercrater plains, and so on) and a more innovative lithostratigraphic version (for example subdividing plains into spectral types). Mercury is tectonically complex, and so the systems of isolated and linked faults will require careful attention. Continued Although a quadrangle map will be the main specified deliverable from this study, the intimate insight gained by close examination of any part of Mercury offers many opportunities for spin-off science. These could, for example, be geomorphological, tectonic, related to space-weathering, or related to volatile processes, according to the student's interests. We would expect the student to present findings at meetings such as the annual Lunar & Planetary Science Conference (Houston) and the European Planetary Science Conference, and also to submit papers for publication in peer-reviewed journals. The supervisors will train the student in ArcGIS and planetary geological mapping. Experience of geological mapping on the Earth would be an advantage.

NASA信使号轨道飞行器于2015年结束了它的使命。为了准备欧洲的水星轨道器BepiColombo（2018年10月发射），信使号和BepiColombo的科学家正在进行协调努力，利用现有的最佳信使号数据制作整个地球的1：3 M地质图。这些将为规划和解释BepiColombo数据提供背景信息，取代使用Mariner-10数据实现的部分1：5 M比例尺地图覆盖。 水星被分为15个四边形（包括每一个极点）。学生将负责创建一个南半球四合院的地质图，由监督小组指导。这将是南纬66度和极点之间的南极四边形（H-15 Bach），或者是占据南纬21-66度的三个尚未绘制的四边形（H-11到H13）之一，这取决于其他机构的同事已经在进行的测绘。然而，每个四边形都有广泛的特征和漫长而复杂的地质历史，使其成为一个令人兴奋的研究区域。 尽可能全面地了解水星的南半球尤为重要。信使号对这一点的研究较少，但BepiColombo将对其进行详细观察，因此这一映射将为我们预期的BepiColombo最新颖的发现建立背景。 学生将使用MESSENGER窄角和广角相机图像在ArcGIS中编译地质图，并辅以来自NASA行星数据系统的地形和光谱数据，并将与绘制相邻四边形的同事协调。测绘将遵循“测绘标准”协议和“规划图”联盟采用的惯例，这与美国地质勘探局的做法是一致的。在线数字出版促进了多个层的包含，因此（例如）新一代地图可以有一个年代地层版本（按年龄划分的表面单位，如平滑平原，坑间平原等）和一个更具创新性的岩石地层版本（例如将平原细分为光谱类型）。水星的地质构造非常复杂，因此需要对孤立和相连的断层系统进行仔细的研究。虽然四边形地图将是本研究的主要指定交付成果，但通过对水星任何部分的仔细检查所获得的深入见解为附带科学提供了许多机会。例如，根据学生的兴趣，这些可能是地貌、构造、与空间风化有关或与挥发过程有关。我们希望学生在年度月球与行星科学会议（休斯顿）和欧洲行星科学会议等会议上展示研究结果，并提交论文在同行评审期刊上发表。 导师将对学生进行ArcGIS和行星地质测绘方面的培训。有地球地质测绘经验者优先。